Individual Self Expression - My teaching philosophy is centered in the belief that both the intellect and creativity of students should be nurtured by the following:
Creative Problem Solving - I enjoy helping young students, whether mainstream or special needs, to find creative ways to solve art making challenges. In that way, their sense of self-esteem, confidence, and independent thinking is strengthened which makes them more open to learning.
Student Based Learning - Pairing up or making student sub-groups helps them to share ideas and different approaches to their artwork with their peers.
Gallery Walk and Talk - To learn about art critique, everyone stands up to look at their artwork, then walks around to see others’ artwork and voices observations.
Classroom Inspiration - The art classroom must be colorful and provide a creative and safe atmosphere for all!
Cultures Around the World - What is meaningful for me is to use the art creating process as a vehicle for students to discover ways for expressing their individuality while learning about different mediums, tools, techniques, from ancient to modern cultures.
Past and Present Art - Students’ art appreciation can grow through learning about art created by famous artists and re-creating famous artists techniques and styles.
Art with Heart - One of my passions is to inspire and enrich students’ self-understanding through art awareness with lessons that relate to their home, school life, and community.
Cross Content- Art lessons integrating other subjects such as math, science, history, music, and literature help to open students' minds to different ways of learning.
Having Fun - An art class that is fun is where students like to be!
